Re-Creating a Memory

I grew up in my Great-Grandparents house.They lived next door to my Grandma Margaret. PaPa and Grandma Belue both died by the time I was and we moved into their house, Even though I was young when they passed, I have two distinct memories of them.

I explicitly remember walking through the yards one day to get PaPa so he could eat lunch with us. I remember going to the back door and then holding his hand as we walked. I remember he swung our arms back and forth. I remember he walked pretty slowly but I still had to take quick steps to keep up with him.

My one memory of my Great-Grandma is standing in her kitchen at the sink and asking for a cracker. She handed me a small square Saltine out of the long white sleeve, the kind you might crumble to put in soups. From that day on square Saltines became "Great-Grandma Belue crackers".

Fast forward from the mid 1980s to 2013.

Quinn wanted a snack today. He wanted crackers, he said.

I had only one kind of cracker.  Keebler TownHouse crackers, in a brown sleeve.

I opened them up and gave Quinn a few. 

He ate one and said how yummy it was.  He asked me what kind of cracker this was.  I said the only thing that came to mind.

"Other-Grandma Crackers". 

My grandma Margaret is Quinn's Great-Grandma. He calls her the "other Grandma" since my mom is his "Grandma".

Now he has a Great-Grandma Cracker memory too!

The Other Grandma

I've said it before many times but I absolutely LOVE my grandma.  I lived next door to her until I was a junior in high school. When we moved, it was to a house about 5 minutes away. When I was in college we moved in WITH her.  She has been a major part of my life and I am so thankful for that influence she has had in my life.

When Quinn was learning to talk, he had a little trouble distinguishing between my mom (whom he called "Grandma") and my own Grandma (which would be his great-grandma).  I wanted him to call her GG...for "great grandma" but neither Mom nor Grandma cared for that name. They never said anything but I could tell by the look on their faces that GG would not work.  So we decided to see what Quin would call her and that would be it.

My parents came for a visit not long after that and Grandma did not come.  Quinn went out to the driveway to greet my parents, but looked confused. He looked at me and said "Where's da other Grandma?"  It took us a minute to realize it, but Quinn had officially given my Grandma her name. She LOVES it, and now signs all his cards Love, The Other Grandma!!

I wish we lived closer so Quinn and Jacob could experience the every-day love from this lady that I grew up with, but for now, we will cherish every moment we can get.

Family Pictures

In my last post, I told you about my Grandmother's 90th birthday and I mentioned we had pictures made. When my parents brought Quinn home from their house (more on that later), they brought me a CD with all the pictures on it. My only regret from this day is that we didn't have more made of just my little group of the family (me, Buddy, Quinn, my parents). Quinn was in a "two-year-old-mood" and would NOT cooperate at all for the pictures.

And before anyone asks, let me just say that all us ladies are wearing purple, and all the guys are wearing orange. We truly are a Clemson Family!

Here I am with my Grandmother. I absolutely love this picture!

Here is the only shot we got with Quinn being somewhat happy.

Here are the four grandchildren....all girls! I'm the oldest, then Ellen (with curls). Ten years after I was born, we added Rebecca (on the right) and then Hannah (the youngest, and tallest!)

I guess you could say these ladies are the closest thing I ever had to having sisters!

The last time we had pictures made together like this was at my wedding....and the girls were wearing purple that day too!

Here's Grandmother and her girls! We are recreating the first picture we ever had made with all of us. Hannah was only a few months old and Grandma held her. Being the oldest, I got to hold Rebecca (who was about 18 months) and Ellen sat beside me. (Yes, Hannah is sitting on Grandma's lap, but she is doing it gently!)

This is of Grandmother and her three children. My mom is on the left. Her sister, my Aunt Linda (Ellen's mother) is on the right. My Uncle Jim (Rebecca and Hannah's dad) is beside Grandmother. And if you know me in real life, this is the Uncle Jim we've been praying for!

And here's the whole group.....Lucky 13! Let me introduce you to everyone else. My Dad is sitting on Grandma's left. Uncle Roy (Aunt Linda's Hubby and another Clemson Grad!) is behind Grandma. Uncle Jim's wife, my Aunt Louanne is behind him. And if you notice, Quinn is pitching a fit! I told you he wouldn't cooperate!

It was so fun to get together with the whole group! This usually only happens for sure at Christmas. Every so often it happens in the summer, but typically someone isn't able to be there. With Aunt Linda and family in Ohio, us in NC, and Rebecca and Hannah still in college, it is hard to get together during the year.

I love my family!!

90 years is a milestone!!

This past Saturday, we celebrated the birthday of a wonderful lady. My Grandmother, my last living grandparent, turned 90!! Back when she turned 85, we threw her a big party and invited all the relatives and friends and had a big time. This year, she only wanted the immediate family with her...something that typically only happens at Christmas (and sometimes in the summer). Back at Christmas we discussed the plans and knew that we should all show up in SC for that special weekend.

We had dinner at a nice restaurant, one we would probably not go to on a usual day. My aunt's friend came to the restaurant and took pictures of all of us out in the garden. We took pictures of each family, some of just us granddaughters, and some of the whole group. Of course, Quinn in his 2-year-old fashion, would not cooperate for pictures. We did get a couple of him running through the shots. As soon as I get these pictures, I'll do a post on that.

I decided that for Grandmother's 90th birthday, I would find out her secret to life. 90 years is a long time to be alive. She's had really good health up until the last few months where she has had a few complications. She has now lived longer than her parents did, and is currently the oldest member of our family....on both her mother's side and her father's side.

Here are Grandmother's 9 tips for living a long, happy, successful life....one tip for each decade of life!

1. Walk with the Lord. Grandmother reads her Bible and prays everyday.

2. Go to church. Grandmother was a member of the same church for 88 years. It was a small mill-village church that closed 2 years ago. It was a Methodist church not far from where she lives and her parents brought her there as soon as she was born.

3. Find true love and keep it forever! Grandmother married her high-school sweetheart and she was married to him for 42 years. She stood by him as he served our country in WWII and was gone to the Pacific. She stood by him as he was sick and was there with him when he passed away in 1982. She never loved another man. (Click here to see old pictures of them.)

4. Be loving, Godly parents. Grandmother was raised by Godly parents and she brought what she learned from watching her own parents into her marriage. She and my grandfather were also loving and Godly!

5. Work hard everyday. Grandmother worked hard around the home, raising her three children and keeping a lovely home. Later on she worked hard to keep her home a place her granddaughters would love to come to. I can remember seeing Grandmother working in the yard, in the garden, and around the house. She was always busy!

6. Exercise and be active. Grandmother was always doing something. One thing I will always remember is her and her sisters driving to the Y several times a week to do water aerobics. They only stopped going a few years ago, after her sisters' health prevented them from driving as much. (Grandma never learned to drive!)

7. Have good nutrition. Grandmother made many meals from scratch and grew fresh vegetables in her garden. Sure, she enjoys a bit of chocolate or something sweet every now and then...who doesn't? And we tease her about putting butter on her biscuits! But she typically is a healthy eater!

8. Never smoke or drink alcohol. This one needs no explanation.

9. Be surrounded by loving family and friends. Grandmother has always loved being with her family. She and her sisters were very close.....so close that all four of them lived next door to each other their entire lives! Our extended family (the kids and grand kids of her brothers and sisters) is as close as most people are with just their siblings.

I am so lucky to have such a wonderful example to live up to. I am so glad I was able to be there for her big, special day! Grandma, thank you for everything you've done for me over the years. You will never know how much you mean to me!

(one of my favorite pictures of Grandma...holding her great-grandson for the first time!)

Update on Grandma

My grandmother's surgery was a success! She got her pacemaker on Thursday morning. Mom said by the afternoon she already had more color in her face than the day before. She has been eating more, which is great, since the low blood flow caused her to have less energy and less of an appetite. The doctor says the pacemaker should not cause her heart to drop below 60 beats per minute.

Thank you for all your prayers!

Grandma's Test Results

A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned a prayer request for my Grandmother. Today she got all the test results back.

First of all, the arteries in her neck have some calcium deposits. That's what was causing the "whooshing" sound in her neck. This can be treated with medication. PRAISE!!

Second, they determined that she has something called Aortic Valve Stenosis. In a medical nutshell, this is when the aortic valve becomes more narrow than normal, causing blood to not be able to flow like it should. The doctor thinks he can also manage these symptoms with medication. PRAISE!!

Finally, they determined after an overnight heart monitor test, that she is averaging a heart rate of 48 beats per minute. The average heart rate is 72 beats per minute. So, as you can see, hers is significantly lower. To manage this problem, she will be having a pacemaker installed next Thursday, March 12th. PRAYER REQUEST!!

We are hoping that through the pacemaker and medication, she will get her energy back. She has been increasingly tired lately, and with a low heart rate, and narrow valves, well, you can see why she has been tired.

Please continue to pray for Grandma as she goes through this procedure next week, and will have to stay overnight for observation.

Here is a picture (taken a year ago) of my wonderful Grandmother, so you can see who you are praying for. She is holding Quinn, age 10 days, her first great-grand child. Can you believe she will be 89 in July??

My entire family thanks you for your prayers.

Prayer Request

I found out last week that my grandmother is having some tests on her heart in a couple of weeks.

Apparently she was having some vitals taken in anticipation of needing a routine colonoscopy. The doctor thought he detected a heart murmur, and wanted this checked out before he would do the procedure. So she went to see her family doctor, who also heard the murmur, and suggested she go see a cardiologist.

My mom took her to see my dad’s cardiologist (he’s had open heart surgery, but that’s another story). My parents trust the opinion of this doctor so they chose him for Grandma’s visit. Anyway, as he listened, he also thought he detected a “whooshing” sound in her carotid arteries. These are the ones that run through your neck towards your brain. He also thought her pulse rate was low, which made him wonder….if her heart rate was low while she is awake, how low does it go while she’s sleeping? So he made her wear a heart monitor overnight. We do not yet know the results of this.

He wants her to have an echo cardiogram on her heart to determine why the heart rate is so low. He also wants to do an ultrasound on her neck to determine what the “whooshing” is all about. Needless to say, the colonoscopy has been postponed.

Grandma is one of these people who "never gets sick." Sure she gets a cold from time to time...we all do. She is almost 89 years old, and is not having any major problems. She is the oldest of her brothers and sisters...and she is in the best health of all of them. She has had her gall bladder removed and a knee replacement surgery and did great with both of them. These procedures happened several years ago and she's had nothing major since.

She will be having these tests on February 19th and 20th. I am praying that she will get great results, and I’m asking you to keep her in your prayers as well.